Tesla, Paypal add more lobbyists

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Nov 29, 2022 View in browser   By Caitlin Oprysko Presented by Philip Morris International With Daniel Lippman NEW BUSINESS: Tesla has added a new outside firm to its roster of lobbyists in Washington. Elon Musk's auto company retained a team of former Hill tax hands at Washington Council Ernst & Young last month to lobby on tax provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act related to vehicles, manufacturing and energy, according to a newly filed disclosure. — The climate and social spending package signed into law earlier this year contains a number of tax breaks aimed at boosting the electric vehicle industry domestically, expanding an existing tax credit that excluded automakers like Tesla. It also eventually introduces stringent new sourcing requirements for EV batteries that reportedly prompted the company to rethink plans for a new battery plant in Europe and includes an advanced manufacturing production credit to help offset costs for producers. — Though Musk has previously shrugged off the need for the tax break , in an earnings call last month, Tesla executives said they expect to meet those supply chain thresholds when the revamped EV credit goes into effect at the beginning of the year. The company also retains Fulcrum Public Affairs, Tai Ginsberg & Associates, Ice Miller Strategies, Cassidy & Associates and Phoenix Global Organization Inc. — PayPal has also added more lobbying help following outrage from the right over what the payment company said was an erroneously posted update to its user policy threatening a fine of up to $2,500 for misinformation. — Days after the Republicans set to take over the House Financial Services and Energy & Commerce committees and each panel's oversight subcommittees next year demanded more information about the mistake , the payment processor brought on a trio of GOP lobbyists at Cypress Advocacy to lobby on issues related to "customer agreements," according to a new filing. — Cypress' Chris Brown and Charlie Schreiber, both former aides to incoming Financial Services Chair Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), will work on the account, as will King Mueller. — Meanwhile Kalshi has enlisted Capitol Counsel's De'Ana Dow , a former CFTC aide, for help with the company's pending proposal before the commission to launch election betting in the U.S. The agency had been expected to rule last month on Kalshi's bid to let people wager on which party would control Congress next year, but has blown past that deadline. — Earlier this month Republican Commissioner Caroline Pham urged Kalshi to drop its bid , — which had drawn support from a range of strange bedfellows — for process reasons given the likelihood it would be rejected. Kalshi also retains Rich Feuer Anderson, whom it has paid $130,000 over the past year. Good afternoon and welcome to PI. Send K Street tips: coprysko@politico.com . And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko . A message from Philip Morris International: Today, 34 million Americans smoke. What's being done to help them stop smoking? Not nearly enough. A new approach is needed, with regulations driven by science and built around the needs of adult smokers. Those 34 million American smokers should have access to—and accurate information about—a wide range of smoke-free products through a review process that maintains scientific rigor but is fast and predictable. More must be done. The time is now. Let's end smoking.   CAPITOL COUNSEL TO LAUNCH DEFENSE PRACTICE Lisa Whisler is joining Capitol Counsel to launch a defense practice for the firm. Whisler has spent the past six years as vice president of government affairs at thermal imaging infrared camera manufacturer Teledyne FLIR, leading the company's legislative and regulatory initiatives and managing its political action committee. — Before that, she spent a decade as director of government affairs at Lockheed Martin (a Capitol Counsel client) and was a senior policy adviser to former Sen. Max Baucus and a Senate liaison for the Air Force. In an interview, Whisler said the firm's decision to launch a defense practice stemmed from the influx of requests it fields for help navigating the NDAA, in addition to the volume of work to be done pertaining to veterans issues. WYDEN TARGETS SURVIVING CRYPTO EXCHANGES: Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) today "pressed Binance, Coinbase and other major cryptocurrency exchanges to explain how they would protect their customers in the event of a financial calamity, as Washington braces for further fallout from the collapse of FTX ," The Washington Post's Tony Romm reports. — The demands "arrived as Democrats weighed a battery of new bills and oversight hearings targeting the mostly unregulated crypto industry. Wyden directed his letters to the U.S. division of Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, KuCoin, Bitfinex and Gemini, major exchanges that allow customers worldwide to buy and sell various digital tokens." — "The senator asked them to reveal more information about the way they manage customers' deposits and assets. Wyden also requested the firms' balance sheets, while demanding they explain their policies in the event of a crisis, such as bankruptcy." — "Wyden pointed to a wide array of federal laws that protect investors in registered securities or customers at regulated banks — but, often, not those who purchase crypto. He cited that discrepancy as he blasted the 'outrageous mismanagement' at FTX, which had been the world's third-largest cryptocurrency exchange until a liquidity crisis plunged it into insolvency this month. 'If these protections had been in place before the failure of FTX,' Wyden stressed, 'far fewer retail investors would be facing precipitous financial harm today.'" — "Wyden's missives came as the FTX meltdown continued to rattle the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem. The latest casualty arrived Monday, when BlockFi, a crypto lender tied to FTX, indicated that it had more than 100,000 creditors as it filed for bankruptcy." ICYMI — BIDEN DROPS THE HAMMER ON RAIL TALKS: "President Joe Biden on Monday asked Congress to intervene to prevent an economically crippling freight rail strike, even though it means delivering a defeat to his allies in the labor movement," POLITICO's Tanya Snyder writes. — "Biden had held out for months on seeking congressional action, instead opting to give the freight rail industry and 12 of its unions more time to negotiate a contract. But as warnings mounted that a strike could begin as soon as Dec. 9, threatening to interrupt U.S. power and water supplies and devastate the broader economy, the pro-labor, pro-rail president said Monday that he saw 'no path to resolve the dispute at the bargaining table.'" — Biden asked Congress to act "without any modifications or delay" to impose an administration-brokered agreement struck in September. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said earlier today that the House will vote tomorrow to move forward with implementing the Biden-backed deal that multiple rail unions rejected, and other members of congressional leadership supported the move as well. — "But that kind of quick passage is more complicated in the Senate, where dissenters from both parties have threatened to slow the action , saying it gives short shrift to rail workers who have been demanding sick leave, which was left out of the deal," our Alex Daugherty, Garrett Downs and Tanya report. JUSTICES DEFENSIVE OF LOBBYING IN ARGUMENTS FOR CORRUPTION CASES: Supreme Court justices spanning the ideological spectrum " searched Monday for a way to condemn bribery without criminalizing political lobbying " as they heard arguments for overturning several bribery convictions, according to Courthouse News Service's Kelsey Reichmann. — "The justices appeared hesitant to fully embrace the arguments of Joseph Percoco, 53, who claims a temporary leave from the office of the former governor, Andrew Cuomo , gave him the green light to conduct a $35,000 bribery scheme." — "'You can spin lots of different versions on it up to the point where a public official just resigns his office every time he wants to take a bribe and then picks up his office again when he's completed the bribe,' Justice Elena Kagan said. 'There has to be something wrong with that.' Instead, the high court searched for a test to define political corruption." — "'How do you distinguish that person from a lobbyist,' Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson asked. 'Lots of people leave their former employment … and continue to engage in relations with people they formally worked with.'" — "The justices worried that adopting a broad definition for political-influence campaigns could upend lobbying. Justice Samuel Alito noted that some lobbyists have deep-seated connections that make them very good at their jobs. He asked if a ruling in the case could criminalize 'super-super effective lobbyists.' 'There's a concern about interpreting this statute to sweep in lobbying,' the Bush appointee said."   A message from Philip Morris International:   Jobs Report — ROKK Solutions has promoted Jeff Grappone to executive vice president and chair of the public affairs practice. He was previously a senior vice president and is a Senate GOP, Labor Department and Siemens alum. — Geoffrey Green has been promoted to executive vice president of government and external affairs at Bollinger Shipyards. Geoffrey was previously vice president for government affairs there. — Battery materials company Sila has hired Alex Fitzsimmons as its first head of government affairs. Fitzsimmons was most recently senior director for renewable energy, energy storage and advanced manufacturing at ClearPath and is an Energy Department alum. — Zach Kinne is now director for global policy and strategy at Cargill. He most recently was director for federal government relations at the company. — Dwayne Carson is joining the lobbying team at Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America as a senior director. He most recently was a managing director at Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. — Seth Nelson and Philippa Martinez-Berrier have each been promoted to vice president at Frontwood Strategies. — Victoria Sheehan will be executive director of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. She was most recently commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Transportation. — R.C. Hammond is now managing director at Mercury. He most recently was vice president at CounterPoint Strategies and is a State alum. — Patrick Large is joining American Defense International. He most recently was chief of staff for Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.), and is a Charles Boustany and John Sullivan alum. — Rep. Rudy Yakym (R-Ind.) has added Ben Falkowski as chief of staff and Mike Dankler as deputy chief of staff. Falkowski previously was president at the High Point Group. Dankler previously was a principal at Michael Best Strategies. — Wyatt Stewart has joined the Investment Company Institute as a government affairs officer on financial services policy in charge of the House Financial Services and Senate Banking committees. He most recently served as assistant vice president for federal government affairs at the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America and is an Eric Cantor alum. — Ven Neralla has joined Federal Street Strategies. He was most recently chief of staff to Rep. Andy Levin (D-Mich.) and is an Obama alum. — Brendan McPhillips and Jane Slusser are now partners at Hilltop Public Solutions, which is launching a new office in Pennsylvania. McPhillips previously was campaign manager for John Fetterman's Pennsylvania Senate campaign, and is a Biden and Pete Buttigieg campaign alum. Slusser previously was a program manager at Power the Polls.   POLITICO APP USERS: UPGRADE YOUR APP BY DECEMBER 19! We recently upgraded the POLITICO app with a fresh look and improved features for easier access to POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Starting December 19, users will no longer have access to the previous version of the app. Update your app today to stay on top of essential political news, insights, and analysis from the best journalists in the business. UPDATE iOS APP – UPDATE ANDROID APP .     New Joint Fundraisers None. New PACs Secateurs Fund (PAC)   GO INSIDE THE MILKEN INSTITUTE FUTURE OF HEALTH SUMMIT: POLITICO is featuring a special edition of our "Future Pulse" newsletter at the 2022 Milken Institute Future of Health Summit from Dec. 6 to 8. The newsletter takes readers inside one of the most influential gatherings of health industry leaders and innovators solving the biggest global health issues to ensure a healthier, more resilient future for all. SUBSCRIBE TODAY TO RECEIVE EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE .     New Lobbying Registrations Alpine Group Partners, LLC.: Southland Holdings, LLC Alta Crest LLC: Local2U West Virginia LLC Ardeidae Group LLC: Bedrock Ocean Exploration Pbc Ballard Partners: Hope Healthcare Ballard Partners: Papa, Inc. Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Billerud Americas Corporation Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney Pc: La Semiconductor Capitol Counsel LLC: Idaho State University Capitol Counsel LLC: Kalshi, Inc. Cypress Advocacy, LLC: Paypal, Inc. Ernst & Young LLP (Washington Council Ernst & Young): Tesla Inc. Kit Bond Strategies: The Transitioning Federal Small Business Coalition Lavender Consultants: The Nature Conservancy Alfo New Front Strategies Group, LLC: Timilon Corporation Rising Tide Associates: Leading Technology Composites Sierra Space Corporation: Sierra Space Corporation Squire Patton Boggs: Digital Analytics Freedom Alliance Washington2 Advocates: Zeroeyes, Inc. New Lobbying Terminations Federal Science Partners LLC: Outset Medical Federal Science Partners LLC: Vaisala, Inc. Fulcrum Public Affairs LLC: Columbia Care A message from Philip Morris International: The most harm from cigarettes comes from burning tobacco—there shouldn't be any confusion about that. When we begin with this knowledge, we can look at an approach to end smoking that includes smoke-free alternatives for adult smokers who do not quit. We know that the best thing an existing smoker can do is to quit tobacco altogether. But 9 in 10 adults will likely continue to smoke. So for those who don't quit, changing to smoke-free products that are much better than continuing to smoke is now a matter of emergency. With accurate information and access to smoke-free products, millions of adult smokers are putting out their cigarettes. Everyone wants a world without cigarettes—but it will take our collective action. Smokers need help, not judgment. They need facts. They need better options than continuing to smoke cigarettes. Let's make smoking history. Learn more.     Follow us

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